If you come to wine and have a time, no weapon should be available for you to find.
This was the projected stance of acting Deputy Commissioner of Police Jayson Forde, as he urged all persons hoping to be a part of the Carnival festivities to “leave your weapons at home, lethal or non-lethal.”
Forde, the Gold Commander for the TTPS Carnival operation said, “My appeal is please, please, please, please leave your weapons home.”
He explained his stance further, “You cannot convince a police officer that you are coming to a Carnival event with a weapon to enjoy yourself. You are coming to cause harm and mayhem. And we have a zero tolerance on anyone found in possession of a weapon intended for crime. Come enjoy yourselves. Leave your weapons at home. We are going to lock you up when we find you with a weapon.”
He also dismissed the use of non- lethal weapons such as pepper spray and tasers, as he stressed that the police were there to offer protection, and would do so with assistance from the Defence Force. He explained that their maritime patrols would also be assisted by the Coast Guard and Chaguaramas Development Authority.
Forde said this zero-tolerance approach would also be applied to glass bottles, which earlier this year was officially barred from all Carnival events across the country.
“What it says in a nutshell there are certain events which are called Carnival events throughout Trinidad and Tobago. I alluded to some of them before when I was speaking. And it runs the gamut from Port-of-Spain straight to Cedros in the South. Diego Martin and Carenage in the West and Toco in the East. And it says that if you are found within 100 metres of that Carnival event with a glass bottle and you have no authority to have that bottle. The police can take action against you,” said Forde in reference to the legal notice.
Forde estimated that 95 to 98 per cent of all police officers will be assigned to police Carnival events on Carnival days. He also said that drones would be used to provide surveillance in Port- of -Spain, Chaguanas and San Fernando.